Like many Americans, I was taught that the only thing worth knowing about Richard Nixon was Watergate. In school, we didn’t cover the upheaval he started in American foreign policy. We never learned, for example, that in less than two years, Nixon ended the Vietnam War, opened relations with China, laid the groundwork for Israel’s peace with Egypt, and weakened the Soviet grip on Eastern Europe, not far from where I live today.

How Nixon achieved such stunning results in foreign policy is history worth teaching, because it resonates for us today.

Caught in the tragedy of Vietnam, Americans had split into two ideological camps: those who wanted America to renounce its global leadership, and those who wanted to expand the range of America’s military engagements.

It was left to Nixon to find what Henry Kissinger described as a third way between abdication and overextension. He decided that there was a sound principle that could guide the United States in the midst of the Cold War, while reconstructing the public support that was lost in Vietnam. That principle was the national interest.

What would have been common sense in most other societies, the national interest was a difficult concept for a people as idealistic as Americans. Americans had long been intoxicated by the belief that the arc of history bends towards justice. That regardless of national histories, traditions, and values, all societies eventually transform into democracies and market economies.

Ever since Woodrow Wilson, Americans had grown attached to the idea that the United States should make the entire world safe for democracy. For Wilson’s ideological descendants, the only question was whether the United States should administer the inevitable by actively intervening, or by simply getting out of the way.

But this type of missionary foreign policy makes two costly mistakes. The first is the assumption that all foreign societies must eventually reflect the American model. The second, and more dangerous mistake, is that American foreign policy does not necessarily need to match our political, military, or financial capabilities.

Nixon watched both mistakes lead the United States to defeat in Vietnam, and to a total rupture of social cohesion at home. In his first annual report on foreign policy, he broke with that tradition:

“Our objective, in the first instance,” he said, “is to support our interests over the long run with a sound foreign policy. The more that policy is based on a realistic assessment of our and others’ interests, the more effective our role in the world can be. We are not involved in the world because we have commitments; we have commitments because we are involved. Our interests must shape our commitments, rather than the other way around.”

American politics had become a struggle between those who wanted to retreat from the world, and those who wished to expand our interventions in it. Nixon offered a third way, based on the national interest as the core motivation of U.S. foreign policy.

But Nixon failed to realize that America is, at its core, an idealistic society motivated by the promise of a better future. We believe that the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are endowed to all human beings, not just to the citizens of one particular country. A cold, some might say ruthless foreign policy, based only on the U.S. national interest, failed to establish an emotional connection with a people reared on hope.

Any lasting change in foreign policy must, like the American people, have a strong moral center. Without that, Nixon was unable to lead an enduring change in foreign policy thinking, and the catastrophe of Watergate ensured that even his achievements would be obscured by history.

Until a few years ago, it had been several decades since the United States had placed the national interest at the core of its foreign policy. In an attempt to replicate Reagan’s moral victories without possessing his strategic insight, the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations learned too many wrong lessons from the end of the Cold War.

In fact, they made the same mistakes Americans had made a generation before.

They assumed that the increase in the number of democracies in the world was both inevitable and irreversible. And they believed that the new era of democratization eliminated the need for old concepts such as the national interest, geopolitical competition, and the balance of power.

As a result, we spent another generation making foreign policy on the basis of moral and political maxims, without really considering the U.S. national interest, or maintaining stability in the world’s most vital strategic theaters.

Thus we counted on illusive “transitions to democracy.” We conducted humanitarian interventions without regard for the inevitable humanitarian fallout. We signed resolutions and protocols we never had the ability to implement.

And we committed ourselves to war without a clear understanding of the threat we faced or the outcomes we could realistically achieve—an experience which, as U.S. Spokesman to the UN during the first five years of the Iraq War, eventually convinced me that a costly military engagement without a clear benefit to the American people carries profound social and political risks.

Today, we see the consequences of some of these mistakes.

With Russia, we see the costs of assuming that the fall of communism was a permanent moral triumph, rather than a temporary strategic victory that required constant tending.

With China, we see the drawbacks of believing that integration into the global order, and participation in international institutions like the World Trade Organization, makes all regimes responsible stakeholders.

With Iran, we are watching the consequences of treating nuclear proliferation and economic sanctions as if they could be separated from the spread of terror and the regional balance of power.

For decades, the Washington establishment made foreign policy without the national interest as its primary concern, and then apologized to the world—rather than the American people—when its policies failed. By 2016, the American people had grown tired of being told that the national interest was an immoral consideration.

Then came President Trump.

We hear a lot about nationalism and what that word does or does not mean. At times the word has been manipulated for personal gain and deployed as a political weapon. But nationalism, or the national interest, does have a specific application in foreign policy. Summed up by what I’ll call the Trump Doctrine, it actually represents the marriage of strategy and moral clarity that eluded Nixon.

Let me begin to explain that by offering a definition:

The Trump Doctrine puts the security and prosperity of the American people before everything else.

There are of course other important goals of our foreign policy—such as human rights and democratization—but none are pursued at the expense of our national defense and economic well-being. In other words, the President of the United States works for the American people.

That’s the Trump Doctrine. It’s that simple. It is the pursuit of the U.S. national interest without pretext or apology.

Now, as I said, this is not just a sound basis for foreign policy. It is also a moral foreign policy. Let me tell you a few reasons why.

The first is that it is a pure expression of representative government. It places, above all else, the interests of the sovereign and self-determining American people.

The second: It forces policy makers to be clear-eyed—to see the world as it is, not as they think it ought to be.

Moving the world toward greater freedom and liberty is and always will be an important goal for the American people. But the Trump Doctrine forces policy makers to align our objectives with our capabilities—to match our goals with what is truly attainable in the world in which we live.

If you wonder why that’s moral, ask yourself a question. How can America create more wealth and opportunity in the world: By trying to transform the internal structure of foreign societies? Or by trying to grow our economy at 4 percent?

The third reason: An honest admission of our national interests in fact makes our foreign policy more stable. A foreign policy based on the national interest, reasonably defined, is more durable, and more predictable, than one based on the passions and furies of the moment.

The fourth reason this is a moral foreign policy is that, as Secretary Pompeo said recently, “America First” does not mean that America succeeds “at the expense of others.” It means we succeed “to the benefit of our people, and by extension, the nations that share our values and our strategic goals.”

This is exactly right. By openly pursuing our interests, the United States can build consensus among other countries whose own interests reflect similar ideals and objectives. “America First” does not mean “America alone.” Indeed, America’s alliances are one of our greatest advantages in an era of renewed geopolitical competition with China and Russia.

That is the basis of our policy with regard to Europe. Because the United States and Europe share the values of security, peace, and free trade, we ask our European allies to share the burden of transatlantic security. We expect them to cut rather than grow their dependence on Russian gas. And we want them to renegotiate trade agreements to make our relationship more balanced and fairer.

Notice that we are not asking China or Russia to increase their defense capabilities. We are asking our friends. The United States wants Europe to become a political and military power because we are confident that our shared values will provide the fuel for that power.

As the largest economy and de facto leader of Europe, Germany will ultimately decide the strength of NATO, and thus of European security. It is for the sake of Europe’s security that we hold our German partners to their NATO obligations.

Likewise, when President Trump reviews America’s security arrangement with Japan or trade relationship with India, it is not because he questions the value of our partnership with those two great allies. On the contrary, it is because he wants to encourage our Indo-Pacific partners to become more confident and to play a more active global role in defending our shared values.

Whether they admit it or not, those in the establishment who criticize this approach advocate for keeping our allies subdued and passive. But President Trump does not believe that American or global security will benefit from keeping nations which share our interests in a position of perpetual dependency. It is only by having nimble and outward-looking allies that the United States can continue to play the role of global superpower effectively.

For those countries which do not share our values and goals, President Trump is not waiting around for the arc of history. He does not make regime change a precondition for negotiations. Instead, the President is determined to outcompete our adversaries, but he is also willing to cut deals where American and global security will benefit. He is incentivizing our adversaries to change their behavior, not mobilizing to replace them. You are watching this policy play out in real time with China, Iran, and North Korea.

The strength of the U.S. armed forces; the dynamism of our economy and financial system; the dollar’s unchallenged role as the world’s reserve currency; and the revolution in our energy production all combine to give the United States a new era of leverage in global affairs. This is what allows President Trump to pursue a “dual track” diplomatic approach: Using the stick of economic pressure, while offering the carrot of negotiations without preconditions.

This is also why President Trump has removed the limits imposed on American power by moralistic agreements and institutions which do not advance our interests. American power should first and foremost be used to bring our adversaries to the negotiating table—even as we maintain the most credible and formidable military deterrence on the planet.

In my view, this is the Trump Doctrine. And this is what—in the real world—a moral foreign policy looks like.

When our rhetoric surpasses our resources; when our policy exceeds our capabilities; when our expectations cloud our judgment; and when our desire to remake the world overtakes our duty to the American voter—that is when you get pointless and costly wars. That is when you send America’s sons and daughters into harm’s way without a plan for what comes next. That is when you make disastrous trade deals and sign dangerous nuclear agreements. That is when you get massive inequality, and a divided society.

That is when you get an immoral foreign policy.

That may seem counter-intuitive to some of our friends in the elite. But I believe it is common sense to the American voter.

The national interest, or as the president says it best, “America First,” is simply the best means of ensuring the security and prosperity of the American people; cooperating with those who share our values; and outcompeting our adversaries.

It is the best way to retain public support, without which no foreign policy can survive for long.

And it is the only way public support can be legitimately called upon, when—as does happen in the course of our history—we are locked in a confrontation which we must use all of our power and strength to win.

The Trump administration’s ability to defeat ISIS—without a large use of boots on the ground, without triggering a conflict with Russia, and without causing a new wave of terror—is proof that this strategy works. And it salvaged the public support that our predecessors lost in Libya, Syria, and Iraq.

Now, the critics of this strategy have called it everything from ‘nativist’ to ‘isolationist’ to ‘fascist.’ So I’d like to close with a few words about what the Trump Doctrine is not.

It is not based on any race or color or creed. It does not advance the interests of one group of Americans at the expense of any other. It has no bias with regard to red versus blue, or urban versus rural. It is not a doctrine based on class or status, nor does it aim to please the members of a professional elite or the Washington establishment.

On the contrary, the Trump Doctrine is the belief that our government must focus on the equality and dignity of every American—From Maine to Hawaii, Texas to Minnesota, Oregon to Puerto Rico—and that this obligation is fulfilled by promoting the security and prosperity of the American people, not by pretending to promote the interests of all humanity.

To me, this is “America First.” This is the Trump Doctrine. This is American exceptionalism for the 21st-century.

As ground-breaking as it is in our time, President Trump has drawn on a great tradition in American foreign policy.

Think of Washington’s warning against foreign entanglements, cautioning us not “to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties,” in the storms of foreign upheavals.

Think of Teddy Roosevelt’s caution that “it would be both foolish and an evil thing for a great and free nation to deprive itself of the power to protect its own rights.”

Or think of John Quincy Adams—the first American to hold the office I currently occupy—who said that America “goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy,” but “is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all.”

We would have done well to heed these words in years past. Luckily for all of us, now we are.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

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PETE WILSON

Pete Wilson has dedicated more than 30 years to serving the citizens of California, including as Governor of California for two terms (1991 to 1999), eight years as a U.S. senator (1983 to 1991), eleven years as mayor of San Diego (1971 to 1983) and five years as a California state assemblyman (1967 to 1971). He is now a principal in Bingham Consulting Group, based in the firm’s Los Angeles office. He is also of counsel to Bingham McCutchen.

As Governor, he is credited with leading California from the depths of recession to prosperous economic recovery. Insisting on strict budget discipline and rehabilitation of the state’s then-hostile environment toward investment and job creation, Governor Wilson provided for market-based unsubsidized health coverage for employees of small businesses and obtained anti-fraud measures that drove down workers’ compensation premiums by 40 percent.

Governor Wilson also successfully pushed to enactment sweeping welfare reforms, including time limits and work requirements, and historic education reforms, including rigorous curricular standards, class-size reduction, and the replacement of social promotion with early, effective remedial education. He also began new programs of individualized testing of all students, teacher-competency and training, a longer instructional year, and a return to phonics and early mastery of reading, writing and mathematical skills. Governor Wilson led efforts to enact tougher crime measures and signed into law “Three Strikes,” (25 years to life for repeat felons) and “One Strike,” (25 years to life upon the first conviction of aggravated rape or child molestation). He left office with a public approval rating identical to that received by Ronald Reagan at the conclusion of his service as Governor.

After leaving office, he spent two years as a managing director of Pacific Capital Group, a merchant bank based in Los Angeles. He serves as a director of the Irvine Company, U.S. Telepacific Corporation, Inc., National Information Consortium Inc. and IDT Entertainment.

He is the Chairman of the National World War II Museum, and serves on the Board of the Richard Nixon Presidential Foundation, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, and the Donald Bren Foundation and is a founding director of the California Mentor Foundation.

He has received the Woodrow Wilson Institute Award for Distinguished Public Service and the Patriots Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

A lawyer by trade, he graduated from Berkeley School of Law and is a proud U.S. Marine. He worked as an advance man on Richard Nixon’s campaign for Governor of California in 1962.

RONALD H. WALKER

Ronald H. Walker was a senior partner with Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest executive search firm, for over 20 years. At Korn/Ferry, Mr. Walker’s client base included Fortune 100 companies.

Mr. Walker’s extensive record of government services includes Special Assistant to President Nixon from 1969 to 1972 where he was the first director of the White House Office of Presidential Advance. In this position, he was responsible for planning and coordinating all Presidential travel, domestic and international. Those visits included all 50 states and 25 countries. He personally directed the preparations for the President’s historic trips to the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union.

President Nixon appointed Mr. Walker the 8th Director of the National Park Service in December 1972 where he served until 1975. In this position, he was charged with the preservation and care of the country’s 300 National Park System areas encompassing 300 million acres of land. He administered a budget of $350 million and managed 15,000 employees who serve the 230 million people that visit America’s parklands annually.

Mr. Walker previously served as a consultant to the White House Personnel Office. He has also served as a senior advisor to four Presidents and on Special Diplomatic assignments abroad. In addition, he has served as a senior advisor to nine Republican Conventions, highlighted by his Chairmanship and position of CEO of the 1984 Republican National Convention held in Dallas, Texas. At the request of President Ronald Reagan, he also chaired the 50th Presidential Inauguration.

Mr. Walker has served on numerous Boards, both public and private, including as a public sector member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Richard Nixon Foundation, the Kennedy Center, Vice Chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, past chairman of the Freedom’s Foundation at Valley Forge, the National Park Foundation, Grand Teton National Park Foundation, Ford’s Theatre, and Vice Chairman of the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.

Mr. Walker is a distinguished graduate from the University of Arizona with a BA in Government and American History. He also served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain.

Dr. DANIELE STRUPPA

Daniele C. Struppa, Ph.D. is the thirteenth president of Chapman University, effective September 1, 2016. Previously, Dr. Struppa held the position of Chancellor at Chapman University.

Dr. Struppa joined Chapman University in 2006 as provost, responsible for creating and implementing academic priorities for the University and for the allocation of resources to support those priorities. In 2007, with the addition of further leadership responsibilities, he was appointed as Chapman’s first chancellor.

He came to Chapman University from George Mason University, where he served as director of the Center for the Applications of Mathematics, as chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, and as associate dean for graduate studies. In 1997, he was selected dean of George Mason’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Prior to his tenure at George Mason, Dr. Struppa held positions at the University of Milano (Milan, Italy), the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy) and the University of Calabria (Calabria, Italy).

Dr. Struppa earned his laurea in mathematics from the University of Milan, Italy in 1977, and received his doctorate degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1981. In recognition of his work, he has been awarded the Bartolozzi Prize from the Italian Mathematical Union (1981), and the Matsumae Medal from the Matsumae International Foundation of Tokyo (1987).

In 2006, the BIO-IT Coalition (a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., and dedicated to the support of bioinformatics) established a new prize in Dr. Struppa’s honor – the “Professor Daniele Struppa Award” – which is designed to honor high school teachers in math, science and technology.

Dr. Struppa is the author of more than 200 refereed publications, and he is the editor of several volumes. He has edited or co-authored more than ten books. He joined the Richard Nixon Foundation Board in 2019.

J. PETER SIMON

J. Peter Simon co-founded William E. Simon and Sons (WES&S), along with his late father, former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon, and his brother, Bill Simon, Jr. in 1988. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Firm and its Investment Group and is also Co-Chairman of the William E. Simon Foundation.

Mr. Simon was previously employed by Kidder Peabody in New York City from 1975 to 1988. At Kidder Peabody, he rose to Managing Director in the convertible securities department.

Mr. Simon earned a BA in Psychology from Lafayette College and also attended NYU’s Graduate School of Business.

Currently, Mr. Simon also serves on the Board of Directors of Puck Holdings (NJ Devils), is an appointed member of the New Jersey State Board of Education and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Lafayette College. At Lafayette College he is Chairman of the Endowment Committee and serves on both the Easton Committee and the Student Life Committee. At the University of Rochester he is Chairman of The William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Executive Advisory Committee.

Philanthropically, Mr. Simon donates his time to a broad variety of charitable entities. He is Chairman of the Morristown Memorial Health Foundation Board of Trustees and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Richard Nixon Foundation. At the Richard Nixon Foundation he is also Chairman of the Investment Committee and a member of the Executive/Nominations Committee. Currently he is a member of the Covenant House New Jersey Board of Directors, a member of the New Vernon Cemetery Association, a member of the Board of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, and a provisional member of the Charles Hayden Foundation.

Past philanthropic commitments include the Alliance for School Choice Board of Trustees, serving as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee. He served on the Gladney Center Board of Trustees, the National Council for Adoption Board of Trustees and the Peck School Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the New Jersey Seeds Advisory Committee and a member of the Teen Ranch Foundation in Ontario, Canada.

Mr. Simon resides in Green Village, NJ with his wife Janet and their four children.

RICHARD (SANDY) QUINN

Richard (Sandy) Quinn was President of the Richard Nixon Foundation from 2010 to 2014. He was an assistant to Richard Nixon traveling with him during his 1962 California gubernatorial bid. He later served on the staff of Governor Ronald Reagan, including as 1967 Inaugural Committee Chairman, and later served as Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator George Murphy in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Quinn was head of marketing for Walt Disney World in Florida through construction, the opening in 1971 and several years of operation, and later joined the Marriott Corp. as a division Vice President.

He was President of Quinn/Brein Marketing & Communications for many years, serving blue chip corporate accounts throughout the United States. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in business.

MAUREEN DROWN NUNN

Maureen Drown Nunn is a teacher, author, speaker, trainer, interpreter, and a mother of five.

Her career has spanned a variety of disciplines, including her current outreach efforts as an interpreter for Doctors Without Borders.

Mrs. Nunn was the host of a television talk show Moments with Maureen, a 30-minute syndicated program that leapt high above standard talk shows to help everyday people overcome everyday challenges, by learning from others who had overcome adversity and succeeded.

Not only is she an experienced television host with over 15 years in the entertainment business, her other successful nationally syndicated show, Everyday Heroes, won a Cable Ace award.

Mrs. Nunn also hosted a weekly Spanish call-in show with Lety Dominguez Bolivar called Comunidad Latina con Maria y Lety, and was awarded three Diamond Awards and a President’s Award. She studied Spanish in school and found that her language skills created opportunities to hurdle cultural barriers and help others to succeed.

Mrs. Nunn managed her career while being a mother and achieved success in both her professional and her family life.

She attended Perdue University and obtained her MA in Spanish/Education from the University of Southern California. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

TOD R. HULLIN

Tod Hullin is senior vice president of Public Policy for The Boeing Company, and a member of the company’s Executive Council. In this position, he leads the company’s worldwide public policy efforts, including all U.S. federal, state and local government liaison operations for Boeing.

Hullin has extensive public policy experience in both the public and private sectors – in the aerospace, pharmaceutical and entertainment industries, as well as in the U.S. government.

He joined Boeing in 2003 and served as the company’s senior communications executive. He has had overall responsibility for public relations, executive and employee communications, advertising and branding, and international communications.

Prior to joining Boeing, Hullin held the senior public policy position at Vivendi Universal. Previously, he had served as the senior global public policy and communications officer for The Seagram Company, Time Warner and SmithKline Beecham. He was vice president of the Interstate General Corporation from 1977 to 1983.

Hullin began his professional career in 1969 in the Nixon administration as a member of the White House staff. He moved to the White House Domestic Council staff in 1971 and to the Domestic Council for Housing and Community Development in 1974.

In 1976 he was appointed the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Public Affairs. He was the second-ranking executive charged with developing, coordinating, managing and monitoring the worldwide external and internal communications plans for the Department of Defense. In this capacity, he also served as official spokesman at news conferences and briefings.

Hullin graduated from the University of Washington in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in business.

MING HSIEH

Ming Hsieh is Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fulgent Therapeautics.

Prior to founding Fulgent, Mr. Hsieh served as Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the board of directors of Cogent, Inc., or Cogent, a biometric identification services and products company he co-founded in 1990, which was acquired by 3M in 2010.

Prior to his tenure at Cogent, Mr. Hsieh founded and served as Vice President of AMAX Technology from 1987 to 1990. Mr. Hsieh currently serves on the board of directors of Fortinet, Inc., a network security company traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “FTNT.”

An engineer raised in the throes of the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Hsieh emigrated from China in 1981. He received a B.S.E.E. from the University of Southern California in 1983 and an M.S.E.E. from USC in 1984, as well as honorary doctoral degrees from USC in 2010 and the University of West Virginia in 2011. He joined the Board of the Richard Nixon Foundation in 2019.

Mr. Hsieh has served as a trustee at USC since 2007 and at Fudan University in China since 2011.

In 2015, Mr. Hsieh was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

LAWRENCE M. HIGBY

Lawrence M. Higby is a corporate executive with over 30 years of experience, including as Chief Executive Officer of Apria Healthcare Group Inc., from 2002 to 2008 and President and Chief Operating Officer from 1997 to 2004.

Prior to Apria, he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Unocal 76 Products Company and Group Vice President of Unocal Corporation from 1994 to 1997. From 1986 to 1994, he was with Times Mirror Company as Executive Vice President of Marketing of the Los Angeles Times. He was the President and Chief Operating Officer of America’s Pharmacy Inc., (a division of Caremark Inc.).

From 1974 to 1985, he served in executive management positions in sales and marketing at various divisions of PepsiCo, including Vice President of Marketing in North America. Prior to that, he was the Assistant to White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman in the Nixon administration from 1969 to 1973.

Mr. Higby served as Chairman of the New Majority California, and served as Chairman of the Orange County chapter. He also serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards, including as the former Chairman of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, a Director of the Automobile Club of Southern California, a Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center and a Board Member of the Richard Nixon Foundation and Chair of the Nominations and Compensation Committees.

Mr. Higby holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science of the University of California, Los Angeles and also attended the University of California’s Graduate School of Business. He is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award.

Hugh Hewitt

Hugh Hewitt is a tenured Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, a columnist for The Washington Post and host of the nationally syndicated show on the Salem Radio Network, The Hugh Hewitt Show. He was a panelist on four CNN Republican Primary Debates in 2016 and is a frequent panelist on NBC’s Meet the Press. He is President, CEO and General Counsel of the Richard Nixon Foundation.

Hewitt graduated cum laude with a BA in Government from Harvard in 1978. After leaving Harvard, he worked first for David Eisenhower, then for former President Richard Nixon, as a researcher and writer in San Clemente, California and New York. During this time, he worked on President Nixon’s books The Real War and Leaders. At President Nixon’s urging, Hugh attended the University of Michigan School of Law where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and graduated magna cum laude in 1983.

Hewitt clerked for Judges Roger Robb and George MacKinnon on the D.C. Court of Appeals in 1983-84. He served President Ronald Reagan as Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Office of Personnel Management, General Counsel for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and as Assistant White House Counsel and Special Assistant to the Attorney General. In 1989, he returned to California at President Nixon’s request to oversee the Nixon Library project from groundbreaking through Grand Opening on July 19, 1990.

Hewitt is the author of a dozen books, including two New York Times best-sellers.